Management Team

Marc-André Aubé

President and Chief Executive Officer

As President and CEO of Walter Surface Technologies, Marc-André Aubé oversees the company’s strategic corporate direction with a focus on global expansion.

Before joining Walter, Mr. Aubé was President and Chief Operating Officer of GardaWorld Protective Services. He also has experience in various industry sectors including chemical products with Nalco Canada, oil and gas with Petro-Canada, and finance with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Scotia Capital Inc.

Mr. Aubé is a CFA and also holds an MBA from the HEC Montreal and an engineering degree from the Montreal Polytechnic School.

Chester Collier

Senior Vice President

As Senior Vice President, Chester Collier shares responsibility with each country leader for the development, growth and strategic direction of Walter Surface Technologies with Distributors in Canada, USA, Mexico and Brazil. Working with each country’s leadership team, Mr. Collier builds relationships at the executive level of our largest partners and promotes the Walter vision and programs to drive revenue and profit for all stakeholders.

Mr. Collier has held progressively senior positions with Walter over the past 34 years. He began his career as a sales representative in Nova Scotia where he more than doubled sales revenue in four years. He was then promoted to Toronto as a Sales Supervisor where he repeated this sales success. He was then promoted and relocated to Vancouver as Regional Sales Manager. Following this assignment he moved back to Toronto as Western Regional Manager, responsible for all sales from Ontario westward. Mr. Collier was then moved to Montreal as National Sales Manager and progressive positions followed; Vice President Sales, Senior Vice President of Walter Canada, Senior Vice President of Global Distribution, and most recently Senior Vice President of Walter Surface Technologies.

Mr. Collier has a Marketing Diploma from Dalhousie University, and has completed the Executive Management Program at McGill University which included their Advanced Management Program. He was one of the first employees at Walter to complete Walter’s Masters of Surface Technologies program. He now serves as a member of the MDM (Modern Distribution Management) advisory board, and as the Chair of the PTDA Communications Committee.

Donato Pirro

Vice President, Marketing

Dan Pirro has been Vice President of Marketing for Walter Surface Technologies since 2013. Mr. Pirro has global responsibility for the Walter brand and oversees corporate communications and strategic growth initiatives.

Early in his career, he played a key role leading marketing at Teknor Microsystems (now Kontron AG), an industrial computer manufacturer, growing the business from startup to IPO in under five years. While at Teknor, he helped found the PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturer’s Group), which today is the embedded computer industry’s official standards setting organization with hundreds of vendor members.

He then joined Nortel Networks where he helped promote the company’s fiber optic product suite and later directed the rebranding strategy as the division was spun-off. Mr.Pirro rejoined Kontron AG as Head of Global Marketing Operations where he led the company’s worldwide marketing and communications strategy through a series of mergers and acquisitions involving Canadian, US, European and Chinese companies, and eventually supporting the company’s public offering on the Neuer stock exchange in Germany.

Prior to joining Walter, Mr. Pirro was at Westcon Group, a $3B global IT distributor, where he managed new vendor relationships including Aruba Networks, Tandberg and RIM. He later took on responsibility for the Cisco Services portfolio as a customer advocate, providing thought leadership to C-level decision makers on Cisco business practice development.

Mr. Pirro is fluent in English, French and Italian and has a marketing degree from Concordia University in Montreal.

James Welch

President - Walter USA

James (Jim) Welch, is President of Walter Surface Technologies USA. He is responsible for the leadership, growth and profitability of the mechanical and environmental products divisions. Since joining Walter in 2008, Mr. Welch has developed successful strategies that have led to a period of growth in operational performance.

Prior to joining Walter, Mr. Welch spent 26 years with LENOX Industrial Tools, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, where he was Vice President of Commercial Sales.

Mr. Welch holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and an MBA from Western New England College, in Springfield Massachusetts. He also serves as a board member of the Industrial Supply Association (ISA) and currently resides in East Longmeadow, MA.

Patrick Lapointe

Vice President, Research And Development

Patrick Lapointe, Vice President of Research and Development at Walter Surface Technologies, is responsible for managing Walters’s product lines, engineering and technical support teams. He is also responsible for intellectual properties, patents and trademarks.

Mr. Lapointe started his career at Walter in 2009 where he held the position Vice President of International Marketing. Prior to Walter, Mr. Lapointe held progressively senior leadership roles at Sony Electronics and L’Oreal.

He holds an MBA from INSEAD and bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics from l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. Mr. Lapointe is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.

Chester Collier

Senior Vice President - Walter Mexico

As Senior Vice President, Chester Collier shares responsibility with each country leader for the development, growth and strategic direction of Walter Surface Technologies with Distributors in Canada, USA, Mexico and Brazil. Working with each country’s leadership team, Mr. Collier builds relationships at the executive level of our largest partners and promotes the Walter vision and programs to drive revenue and profit for all stakeholders.

Mr. Collier has held progressively senior positions with Walter over the past 34 years. He began his career as a sales representative in Nova Scotia where he more than doubled sales revenue in four years. He was then promoted to Toronto as a Sales Supervisor where he repeated this sales success. He was then promoted and relocated to Vancouver as Regional Sales Manager. Following this assignment he moved back to Toronto as Western Regional Manager, responsible for all sales from Ontario westward. Mr. Collier was then moved to Montreal as National Sales Manager and progressive positions followed; Vice President Sales, Senior Vice President of Walter Canada, Senior Vice President of Global Distribution, and most recently Senior Vice President of Walter Surface Technologies.

Mr. Collier has a Marketing Diploma from Dalhousie University, and has completed the Executive Management Program at McGill University which included their Advanced Management Program. He was one of the first employees at Walter to complete Walter’s Masters of Surface Technologies program. He now serves as a member of the MDM (Modern Distribution Management) advisory board, and as the Chair of the PTDA Communications Committee.

Chester Collier

Senior Vice President - Walter Brazil

As Senior Vice President, Chester Collier shares responsibility with each country leader for the development, growth and strategic direction of Walter Surface Technologies with Distributors in Canada, USA, Mexico and Brazil. Working with each country’s leadership team, Mr. Collier builds relationships at the executive level of our largest partners and promotes the Walter vision and programs to drive revenue and profit for all stakeholders.

Mr. Collier has held progressively senior positions with Walter over the past 34 years. He began his career as a sales representative in Nova Scotia where he more than doubled sales revenue in four years. He was then promoted to Toronto as a Sales Supervisor where he repeated this sales success. He was then promoted and relocated to Vancouver as Regional Sales Manager. Following this assignment he moved back to Toronto as Western Regional Manager, responsible for all sales from Ontario westward. Mr. Collier was then moved to Montreal as National Sales Manager and progressive positions followed; Vice President Sales, Senior Vice President of Walter Canada, Senior Vice President of Global Distribution, and most recently Senior Vice President of Walter Surface Technologies.

Mr. Collier has a Marketing Diploma from Dalhousie University, and has completed the Executive Management Program at McGill University which included their Advanced Management Program. He was one of the first employees at Walter to complete Walter’s Masters of Surface Technologies program. He now serves as a member of the MDM (Modern Distribution Management) advisory board, and as the Chair of the PTDA Communications Committee.

Josée Coutu

Vice President Finance

As Vice President of Finance at Walter Surface Technologies, Josée Coutu, CPA, CA is responsible for Walter’s Canadian Finance, Human Resources, and Information Technology Departments. Ms. Coutu also manages international finances for the Walter Group and supports Walter’s Chairman and CFO in the development, growth, and strategic direction of the company.

After several years of public practice in the fields of accounting and auditing, Ms. Coutu joined Mapei Inc. as Assistant Controller and was later promoted to Controller. In these roles, Ms. Coutu gained over a decade of experience in financial management and strategic planning, which she brought to Walter in 2010 when she joined the company as Director of Finance.

Ms. Coutu graduated from the HEC Montréal with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting, and in 1987 she earned her Chartered Accountant (CA) designation.

Philip Tanious

Vice President, Operations

Philip Tanious is Vice President of Operations at Walter Surface Technologies. He oversees several key areas of Walter’s business operations including inventory, production, and logistics as well as purchasing for Walter’s international offices.

Mr. Tanious joined Walter in 2007 as Director of Operations, and he played an instrumental role in the 2012 LEED construction of the Walter Campus in Montreal. Before joining Walter, Mr. Tanious held senior positions in operations and sales at KoneCranes International.

Mr. Tanious holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (B.Eng) degree from Concordia University in Montreal and has been a member of l’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec since 1997.

Daimon Mussell

Vice President, Sales – Walter Canada

Daimon Mussell, MBA is Vice President of Sales for Walter Surface Technologies. As head of the company’s Canadian sales force, he has been instrumental in implementing go-to-market strategies for the Walter brand. Mr. Mussell joined Walter in 2010, and he has held progressively senior leadership positions within the Sales Department.

Mr. Mussel, began his career as a Sales Representative for Saint-Gobain Abrasives. He has an accumulated 25 years of leadership experience at a variety of manufacturing and distribution companies within the metalworking and MRO industries.

Mr. Mussel holds an MBA from the University of Windsor.

David Wright

Vice President Corporate Development

David Wright, Vice President Corporate Development, leads the company’s special projects and M&A activities. Mr. Wright joined Walter in 2015 as part of the company’s Next to Succeed leadership program after which he held the position of Business Development Manager. Mr. Wright has a B.S. from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Prior to joining Walter Mr. Wright was an Olympic Athlete in the sport of sailing competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.